Chances are that within your household or among your circle of friends, there are some people who have a hearing loss. Baby boomers and especially their parent generation — those 80 and older — may not always hear the message you wish to convey.

by Barbara Gunn/Special to The Oak Ridger

Chances are that within your household or among your circle of friends, there are some people who have a hearing loss. Baby boomers and especially their parent generation — those 80 and older — may not always hear the message you wish to convey.

There are some things you can do to make sure your voice is heard, whether you are talking one-on-one, in a small group or on those more formal occasions when you are addressing an audience.

When you’re speaking one-on-one, for example, it helps to face the person. This means you have their attention, and they have the advantage of seeing your body language. Otherwise, if you’re rummaging through the refrigerator and ask, “Any important mail today?” the answer might be “leftover chicken.”

If you have some parting words as you prepare to exit, again be sure to turn and face the person. Remember Lauren Bacall in “Casablanca” when she approaches the door to leave Bogie, she turns, faces him, and says, “If you need me, just whistle.” You can see he hears her. Face-to-face also means the voice the person hears is meant for him or her — you weren’t talking on the phone or to the dog.

A small group situation is more problematic. In a restaurant, a person with a hearing loss should be seated in a booth against the wall if possible. This minimizes extraneous sounds. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible at many group luncheons, which usually seat six or eight people around a table. To make your voice heard in that setting, it’s almost necessary to tap your glass to get the attention of everyone and then announce your subject. Etiquette allows side conversations and some interruptions, although sometimes the end result may resemble the old parlor game of “Gossip.”

For committee meetings and such, it helps to have a person with a hearing loss sit facing the chairperson, never alongside. Again, this is to make it easier to read body language. If a vote is to be taken, it helps to have the motion in written form; otherwise a word like “ban” can be heard as “can” or “and” by someone with a hearing loss.

On those occasions when you are speaking to an audience if there’s a microphone use it. If the mic is attached to a podium, it may need to be adjusted up or down. If it’s a hand-held mic, it will need to be held close to your mouth — just a couple of inches away. Don’t forget that if you leave the podium for a flip chart or to move closer to the audience, you’re leaving the mic behind. You will also not be heard if you gesture with a hand-held mic. Questions from the audience need to be repeated, both to assure you understand the question correctly and that members of the audience hear both the question and your answer.

An estimated one in 10 people has some degree of hearing loss. Audiologists tell us that even the best hearing aids don’t result in perfect hearing. With hearing aids, for example, I can hear most people most of the time. On behalf of myself, and all those who have difficulty hearing, I suggest following the above tips to let your voice be heard.